Sports Betting Options - The Teaser

U.S. online sports bettors have the good fortune of having access to some of the best sports betting operators in the world. What makes an operator a top operator is the operator's willingness to offer a nice selection of sports betting options.

In the U.S., sports bettors have a wide range of betting options from which to choose. Here are the most common betting options that top operators are offering to online/mobile customers:

• Straight bet - money line


• Straight bet - point spread


• Multi-leg parlays


• Round Robins


• Proposition bets - players and teams


• Futures odds betting


• Live in-game betting


• Teasers
  

While each of these options comes with advantages and disadvantages, a couple of them offer interesting ways to bet on games. In the following sections, the teaser bet will be discussed in some depth. Maybe, this insight will motivate you to bet a few teasers of your own in the future.

What is a Teaser Bet?

Point spreads serve as the starting premise for a teaser bet. Using the listed point spreads for basketball or football games, the teaser allows the sports bettor to adjust the given lines by a certain amount of points, effectively creating new point spreads.

What makes the teaser bet unique is its treatment in a fashion that is similar to a parlay bet. In other words, the bettor has to include at least two (2) legs on the same betting slip to create a teaser. The maximum number of legs can vary from one mobile operator to the next. That number should be available in the operator's betting terms and conditions.

As for teaser odds, they are also treated in a fashion that is similar to the parlay bet. The odds will increase as the number of legs increases. However, the odds at each leg level are lower than what is offered on a parlay at the same level. The lower odds are attributable to the favorable swing in the point spread that is allowed for each game.

How the Teaser Works

The best way to describe how a teaser works is by offering an example. It's noteworthy that teasers are primarily made available related on basketball and football games. However, teasers can be made available on any sports betting market where points spread are listed.

For this example, the NFL betting market will be used. This seems the appropriate choice given the popularity of NFL betting among U.S. sports bettors. Here are the imaginary five (5) games (with standard point spreads and over/under lines) that will be used for this example:

Green Bay Packers -7 over Chicago Bears - over/under is 44
Carolina Panthers - 3 over New York Jets - over/under is 42.5
San Francisco 49ers -8.5 over Jacksonville Jaguars - over/under is 46
Kansas City Chiefs - 7.5 over Las Vegas Raiders - over/under is 47
Cincinnati Bengals pk over Cleveland Browns - over/under is 43.4

For this example, the bettor has chosen the 6-point teaser (odds info is listed below). They will use the aforementioned five (5) games to create a 5-leg, 6-point teaser bet. The betting slip will look like this:

Green Bay Packers -1
New York Jets +9
Kansas City/Las Vegas over/under under 53
San Francisco 49ers -2.5
Cleveland Browns +6.

Two things need to be noted. First, over/under bets can be teased (one has been included). Second, each of these listed legs has been adjusted favorably for the better by the allowed 6 points. The adjustment is made in the direction that favors the bettor. Note: Bettors can tease both sides of the same game if they so choose. That can't be done on parlays.

To win a teaser bet, the bettor has to hit all five (5) legs. If one leg pushes or ties, it is considered a no action, and the number of legs will be adjusted down by one.

Teaser Payouts

The payout on the aforementioned bet, a 5-leg, 6-point NFL football teaser, is +400 or 4-1. Here is a look at the odds table for common Football teaser levels. Note: The odds can vary slightly from one mobile operator to the next:

6-point teaser

• 2-legs -110


• 3-legs +180


• 4-legs +300


• 5-legs +450
  

6.5-point teaser

• 2-legs -120


• 3-legs +160


• 4-legs +260


• 5-legs +400
  

7-point teaser

• 2-legs -130


• 3-legs +140


• 4-legs +240


• 5-legs +350
  

Depending on the mobile sportsbook, there might also be access allowed to super teasers at 10-points and 14-points. Of course, the odds per number of legs will be adjusted downward to reflect the increased betting advantage the bettor gets.

FYI: Here is a look at the teaser odds for common basketball teaser levels, which can also vary from one mobile operator to the next:

4-point teaser

• 2-legs +100


• 3-legs +180


• 4-legs +300


• 5-legs +500
  

4.5-point teaser

• 2-legs -110


• 3-legs +160


• 4-legs +250


• 5-legs +400

5-point teaser

• 2-legs -120


• 3-legs +150


• 4-legs +230


• 5-legs +350
  

Note: Super teasers at 8-points and 10-points are known to exist.

Are Teasers Considered Good Bets?

Professional sports bettors will tell you that teasers are not good bets. Statistically, the new teaser lines don't often change the outcome of a given game from a point-spread perspective. That being the case, the decreased value of a teaser payout versus a parlay payout with the same games is drastically undervalued. That's on top of the fact that the bettor still has to hit the same number of multiple games, which is never easy.

If you want to bet teasers, it's okay. You just need to understand that you are sacrificing betting value to get a few extra points that might or might not make a difference. In all honesty, the teaser bet is a good betting option for recreational bettors who want to bet multiple games yet have limited bankrolls and low expectations of winning big money. They can be fun wagers when used with the right mindset.